Saturday, December 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Dr. Z!



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Dr. Zira's actual 13th  birthday is December 15, but we are celebrating today.  We adopted Zira in July of 2008 from her breeder.  I had been wanting a brussels griffon for my fifth dog and was thinking I would like an older dog rather then a puppy, even though I adore puppies, as we had just gone through the puppy stage with Bob our bulldog.  I had planned to get a male Brussels Griffon and name him Dr. Zaius.    The idea for the name came from the movie Planet of the Apes which we had just scene at the Landmark Loews, a really cool old theatre in Jersey City that has been restored and now screens old movies.  I have always thought Planet of the Apes was a hoot and since Brussels Griffons are known as monkey dogs I thought the name would be very appropriate.  I also loved this clip from the Simpson's of a musical Planet of the Apes, it always cracks me up.  I have recently decided that it is Dr. Z's theme song.




Anyway, I contacted numerous rescues and quite a few breeders and nobody had a male Brussels Griffon.   Finally, a local Brussels Griffon breeder told me that she had an older female, age 9, that had been returned to her recently.  So we went out to see her knowing we would probably wind up bringing her home.  When we met Zira she was named Samantha, and was very shy and a bit skinny.  She was living with about 20 to 30 other dogs so I knew that living with five other dogs would be nothing for her.  Of course we couldn't leave her.   She transitioned to our home very smoothly and became very close to our elderly pug, Bingo.


We changed Samantha's name to Dr. Zira and brought her to our vet right away.  There we found out she needed a bunch of teeth extracted and that she had kidney disease.  Today Zira has almost no teeth and with a good diet her kidneys have not worsened.  She is definitely still shy and doesn't like to cuddle much, but she is always around when you open a bag of treats.  She has some very nasty habits (the initials for it would be P.E.) but we love her anyway.  Our vet thinks we have extended her life by many years by bringing her into our home.  Here are some of my favorite picture of Dr. Z over the years she has been with us:


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Today Dr. Zira began her birthday celebration with a trip to one of her least favorite people, the groomer, afterwards we took her for a walk  (short as she is not a fan of long walks)



 and out to buy our Christmas tree. 


When we got back Dr. Zira, and her siblings, had  cake (peanut butter flavor)










Goand got her present: 










Kung Fu Fido fortune cookies. 


Then we watched Planet of the Apes and decorated our tree (its a terrible blurry picture but it looks very nice and is very tall)




It was a great birthday for all!

17 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday, Dr Z! And many happy returns!

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  2. Happy Birthday, Dr. Zira! You're a lucky dog to have the home you have, but we are sure you know that. And you aren't alone in the PE thing. We are glad you had an awesome birthday and hope you have many more healthy, happy years.

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  3. Happy Birthday Dr. Zira! We love your outfits!

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  4. Happy 13th Dr. Z!!! You are one cutie pie...and have so much character in your face. We love you and are so glad to see you have a great family of dogs and people!


    Hugs
    The Girls

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  5. Happy happy birthday Dr. Z! I love those pictures of you, and we hope you enjoyed your special day!

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  6. Happy Birthday Dr Z! You look so happy! Have a great year.

    Drools and licks,
    Minnie and Mack

    PeeS: Hu-mom got a laugh out of the video clip!

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  7. My goodness what a lucky girl Dr. Zira is! Just her wardrobe alone is amazing! Love the hooded sweater!

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  8. Hopping through - Happy Birthday, Dr. Z! Looks like you found the right family and siblings. Merry Christmas!

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  9. Happy happy birthday, Dr. Zira!! I'm happy you are with such wonderful family and celebrating your 13th birthday. The cake looks yummy and I hope you enjoy your present :-) Have a great birthday weekend!!

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  10. Happee Birthday Dr. Z. We love those pictures!!!
    Benny & Lily

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  11. Happy birthday Dr. Zira, I'm so glad that you and your parents found each other, you look so happy in those pictures and it put a huge smile on my face to see it!!

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  12. Dr. Zira - your are beautiful and adorable. Much love to you and Happy Birthday from your pals in Guam.......MA-kytah and Shady.

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  13. Those knit hoodies are possible the CUTEST things I have EVER SEEN. So sweet...

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  14. Happy belated Birthday, Dr. Z! My 'rents love that your theme song is the "Dr. Zaius" song from the Planet of the Apes musical from the Simpsons. You have a great story and are lucky to have such a wonderful family - they are lucky to have you, too! That cake looks DELICIOUS! I'm sure it was tasty!

    -Love,
    Sid.

    P.S. you have such an amazing wardrobe.

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  15. oh my GOODNESS she is cute! i especially love that first picture. brussels are the cutest little dogs, i wouldn't mind bringing one home either.

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  16. What a pawsome birthday. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  17. great birthday and the hoodies are so cute.

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